


Innocence in Peril

by InkStaticKJ



Series: Gotham / DC comics Fanfictions [3]
Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: F/M, Jeremiah is awkward, Jerome threatens reader, ecco is badass
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:53:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25297936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkStaticKJ/pseuds/InkStaticKJ
Summary: Jeremiah has never had the guts to admit his feelings, but now after she's threatened by Jerome, maybe He'll confess to his crush after all.
Relationships: Jeremiah Valeska & Reader, Jeremiah Valeska/Reader
Series: Gotham / DC comics Fanfictions [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1772839
Kudos: 21





	Innocence in Peril

**Author's Note:**

> This was requested on my Tumblr, and got me out of my writer's block! Yay! This is also my first request EVER! Double yay! However, I feel it is not my best. Boo. Anyway, please enjoy. I have 2 more Valeska fics coming up as well!

Every day, Jeremiah sat in the back of the class, and every day, (Y/n) sat in the seat directly in front of him. Despite the fact that there was no assigned seating, this was what always happened. Jeremiah certainly didn’t mind. He thought the girl in front of him was very smart and very pretty. He was far too awkward to initiate a conversation with her, but luckily he had a reputation for being the smartest kid in class, and (y/n) would often ask him about assignments. Over time, the two became an odd kind of friends, and Jeremiah’s little schoolboy crush became something much more.

“Miah! Can you help me with my chemistry worksheet?” (Y/n) grimaced, both from fear of inconveniencing Jeremiah and hatred of chemistry. 

“Of course.” Jeremiah pushed his glasses up and cleared his throat. “What are you confused about?”

“Everything,” she pouted. 

Jeremiah chuckled, avoiding eye contact as he tried to will his reddened cheeks to cool off. “Let’s start from the beginning again.”

Quite a few years passed, but Jeremiah never lost contact with (Y/n). She was one of the few people who would be allowed into his bunker. (Y/n) never understood why he lived within the concrete maze, but Jeremiah always told her it was how he focused best. She doubted that, seeing as to how he focused just fine back in school but brushed it off as some weird comfort. If it made Jeremiah feel better, who was she to complain? Especially with how rotten this city had become. Gotham was always rife with crime, but after the deaths of Martha and Thomas Wayne, everything seemed to go downhill quite rapidly.

Today, Jeremiah stood in front of the mirror in his bathroom, nervously adjusting his jacket and shirt collar. (Y/n) was supposed to visit again, and she would be arriving quite soon. With a heavy sigh, he leaned his sweaty palms against the sink, wishing he could get over this childish fear and tell (Y/n) how much she meant to him. He knew he really had nothing to fear. She was a kind soul, who was always careful not to hurt anyone else’s feelings. He reasoned with himself that even if she didn’t return his feelings (which couldn’t be too high a chance, right?), she would certainly let him down gently, and with time they could at least be friends again. But the thought of laying his cards out on the table and having her reject him was. . . embarrassing. Not to mention he would be heartbroken. But was it really better to stay in the dark on such matters?

Sighing yet again, Jeremiah turned the faucet on and splashed water onto his face. Now was not the time to be lost in pointless thoughts. Thinking did nothing. Only action makes changes. 

Leaving the bathroom, he made his way back into his little office, figuring he could work until (Y/n) arrived, which would be in. . . ? He checked his watch. An hour. Nodding to himself and wiping his once again sweaty palms on his pants, Jeremiah turned on his security screens, looking to see all was normal. Ecco was patiently waiting for (Y/n)’s arrival as well, ready to lead her through the maze when she did finally show up. Pouring himself a drink, the nervous man sat down and gazed at the newest blueprints laying across his desk. Try as he might, he couldn’t slow his mind down enough to focus. Still, he didn’t give up, and he eventually found himself buried in his work again. 

It was quite some time later when Ecco knocked on his door. Leaning back in his chair, Jeremiah told her to enter, expecting (Y/n) to walk in behind him.

Ecco entered alone.

“Ecco. Where is (Y/n)?”

“She never came. She’s nearly an hour late.” Looking to his watch again, Jeremiah saw that she right.

“Maybe something came up, and she couldn’t make it. Did she happen to leave a message?”

“No,” Ecco frowned. “She hasn’t called.”

Jeremiah mirrored the look of concern and confusion on her face. (Y/n) was never late or absent without telling anyone. She was always cautious to tell people where she was. Gotham is a dangerous place.

“I’ll call and see if she answers. Maybe she’s fallen asleep again.” Jeremiah made his way the phone at his desk, stopping as it began to ring. Slowly, he turned to look at Ecco while he picked up. Only a couple of people knew this number. Maybe it was (Y/n)? “Hello.”

“Hello, brother dearest.” Jeremiah’s blood ran cold, and his face grew pale. He knew that voice better than anyone else. It was practically his own. 

“Jerome.” He glanced back to Ecco, who tensed at the mention of his name. “How did you find me?” 

“That’s not important, bro. What really matters is that I have your precious little girlfriend here with me. And you don’t like that, do you?”

“Jerome, whatever you want, leave her out of it.” Jeremiah grimaced as his brother began to laugh.

“I’d really rather not. I want you to meet me in an hour.”

Jeremiah gulped, wiping his sweaty hand for the third time. “Where?”  
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

(Y/n) sat in the grass beneath a tree, watching the man who both was and wasn’t Jeremiah pace back and forth before her. She had always had her suspicions about Jerome Valeska but had never asked Jeremiah about him. She had always trusted that he would tell her if he could. Of course, she wasn’t stupid. When she saw the maniac on the television, she first thought it was Jeremiah, but after a quick phone call and some simple research, she reached a solid conclusion: Jeremiah had an evil twin he never told her about.

As ridiculous as it may have seemed at the time, the facts simply didn’t lie. And they most certainly didn’t lie now. Standing in front of her was Jerome Valeska, face full of scars,and his back turned away. (Y/n) figured running was a bad idea, so she didn’t bother to take advantage of being out of his line of sight. She had thought through anything and everything she could do, but between the lack of tools or weapons and being stuck in an almost entirely open field with a gun-wielding manic, her chances of escape were pretty slim. She didn’t want to risk it.

She thought back to when they were in school. Where had Jerome been then? He certainly wasn’t a threat at the time. Or maybe he was, and (Y/n) had just been absolutely clueless. The thought made her shiver.

“Well,” Jerome drawled, turning back to look at her. “Brother dear should be arriving at any minute. Say, you got any good stories?”

“Not really,” she chuckled humorlessly as he came and kneeled in front of her. “Maybe one or two from school.”

“Tell me one.” Jerome sat down and crossed his legs. “Tell me one about my brother. I missed being a part of his life.”

“Okay,” (Y/n) thought carefully. Something entertaining about Jeremiah. . . Thinking of a good story would be easier if she wasn’t so terrified. “Well, I could tell you about the junior prom.”

“Ooh, prom! Goody!”

~~~

“The theme for prom this year is gonna be Under The Sea! Isn’t that cute?” (Y/n) was turned around in her seat, facing Jeremiah, who was already starting today’s classwork. He nodded, adjusting his glasses without looking up. With a slight sigh, (Y/n) turned around, still talking to him. “You have any plans to go with anyone?”

“No.”

“Oh. You don’t want to ask any girl here to the prom? Not one?”

Jeremiah hesitated.

“No.”

(Y/n) whirled around in her seat and nearly screamed, “You are so totally lying, Miah!”

Jeremiah looked up and hushed her, glancing at the few stares her outburst had earned them. 

“Sorry.” She apologized meekly, waving at one of her classmates who turned back around. “But really, you have to have someone in mind.”

“I do. But I’m not going to actually ask.”

“Why not?” (Y/n) pouted. “Can you tell me who she is?”

“No.” Jeremiah returned to his paper.

“Well, if you aren’t;t going to ask her to go to the prom, I’m going to ask you.”

“Me?” Jeremiah looked up quickly, nearly knocking his work off his desk.

“Yeah, unless you do wanna ask her to go. But if not, you and I can go instead.” She rubbed her neck. “Just as friends, of course.”

“Ah, yes.” Jeremiah looked back at his worksheet. “As friends.” He started to work again, and (Y/n) turned to look at the worksheet on her desk. How did he already know how to do this?

“I also heard they’re serving lobster at prom. I don’t think that’s true though.”

-

“This is boring.” Jerome groaned, throwing himself back onto the grass, throwing (Y/n)’s train of thought askew. “I don’t want to hear about you flirting with him. Tell me something embarrassing.”

(Y/n) blinked, remembering her current situation. She looked over and saw Jeremiah himself walking towards them slowly. Jerome followed her gaze and smiled, sitting up and scooting closer to her. He placed the barrel of his pistol to her head and forced her to stand with him.

“It’s about time you showed up.” He giggled. “(Y/n) was just telling me the dullest story everrrr.”

“What do you want from me, Jerome?” Jeremiah raised his hands in surrender. “Why did you have to drag (Y/n) into this?”

“Aw, come on, bro.” Jerome poked (Y/n)’s cheek with the gun. “How else was I gonna getcha to leave your little maze ‘o fun? It’s not like I could have just asked ya.”

Jerome began to laugh like crazy (hmm, I wonder why), and (Y/n) caught Jeremiah’s eye. The two made eye contact for a moment, and Jeremiah nodded at her. 

“Aw, you two really are cute.” Jerome kept grinning. “Which means (Y/n) and I would be cute too. ‘Cuz, ya know, same face.”

Jerome gestured to his face with the gun for a moment but suddenly stumbled forward, nearly taking (Y/n) with him. Turning to look, she saw Ecco standing behind them with her own gun in hand. (Y/n) smiled and hugged Ecco.

“Thank you, Thank you both.” She pulled away as Jeremiah joined them, but he wasn’t interested in celebrating just yet. He grabbed (Y/n)’s hand, who in turn grabbed Ecco’s hand, and led them away from the field towards a waiting car. Ecco got into the driver’s seat while Jeremiah and (Y/n) got into the back. Finally out of immediate danger, (Y/n) felt the adrenaline begin to wind down slightly, as she began to tremble. It suddenly hit her how close she had come to dying, and she felt the tears begin to form in her eyes. Jeremiah reached out to comfort her, and she felt him shaking too. 

With a sob, she threw herself at him, wrapping him into a hug, which he gladly returned.

“It’s okay, (Y/n). You’re safe now. I won’t let him hurt you.” She cried in his arms for a while longer, as he continued to tell her that she was safe from harm. Inside he knew this was a lie. Now he would be coming for them both, enraged and looking for a way strike back. 

They arrived at Jeremiah’s bunker and quickly locked themselves away. (Y/n) went to the restroom to clean herself up a bit, and left Jeremiah and Ecco to talk.

“I think she should stay here with me,” Jeremiah said, pouring himself a glass of something strong. “Jerome will be back.”

“I’ll start the preparations,” Ecco said, and Jeremiah nodded. (Y/n) was in more danger now than ever before, and he was determined to keep her safe.

Maybe he would even tell her he loved her.


End file.
